Efficiency enhancement of flexible dye sensitized solar cell using TiO2 nanotube/ZnS nanoparticles photoanode

Abstract

A composite material, TiO2 nanotube arrays/ZnS nanoparticles (TNT/ZnS NPs) was assembled by deposition of ZnS nanoparticles onto anodized TiO2 nanotube by sequential chemical bath deposition method. The tube-based photoanodes are crystallized at 550 °C prior to solar cell construction. The effect of annealing of TiO2 nanotube films at 550 °C and pH values (7.5, 8.5 9.5) of prepared ZnS nanoparticles on the photovoltaic performance of flexible solar cells is studied. The characteristics of the flexible dye-sensitized solar cell were examined using a polyaniline as a counter electrode and KI/I2 as an electrolyte. Ruthenium dye (N719) was used as an active layer. The characterizations of the films were also accomplished by using atomic force microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray diffractometry and FTIR. The flexible dye-sensitized solar cells of TNT/ZnS nanoparticles photoanode achieved a power conversion efficiency of 0.75 % under 80 mW/cm2 illuminations, which is higher than that of bare TiO2 nanotube photoanode (0.3 %).